The International Monetary Fund has warned that global trade tensions are weighing on the world economy.
In its annual External Sector Report Wednesday,... the IMF said all countries should avoid policies that "distort trade" and called for greater urgency in tackling "persistent excess imbalances".
Saying countries should refrain from using tariffs to target bilateral trade balances,... it added recent trade actions have had a minimal impact on global imbalances, but higher tariffs have been hurting the world economy.
The report also called for reviving liberalization efforts and modernizing the multilateral rules-based trading system... as well as more enforceable WTO commitments.